Curiosity has the best of me - Vegetarians.

[Rozzie]

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Not necessarily. I had chickens for many years. I got straight run chicks from a small producer -- not a big factory farm. I also did have some birds that were "throwaways" from a commercial producer -- they left the young birds in a bucket outside their chicken house to die in the cold (Not all lived -- they were VERY cold by the time I saved them. However, several did live long, productive lives.) A few others were obtained from someone who could no longer have chickens. From that point, I was able to let my birds hatch "mutt" babies.

I never killed a single rooster. That's right. I had MANY roosters. I had to separate a couple of "mean" roos into bachelor pads, but otherwise, I never really had problems with multiple roosters in my pens.

I now have quail. Once again, I don't butcher. I just hatched out a few babies. Regardless of how many are male they will have a home. My quail were given to me by someone who no longer wanted them. I did not contribute to the death of any creatures by accepting unwanted animals into my care. In fact, I probably prevented their death.

So, I can easily eat eggs without contributing to bloodshed. Thus it is not necessary for me to be a vegan in order to not cause harm.

 

[justbugged]

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I consider fish and what is termed seafood as animals. So I don't consider anyone that eats seafood a vegetarian. They are still eating meat, and animals are still being killed. I know that eel is very edible and the thought of eating my 18" eel is truly repulsive to me. I adore my eel, and I know that he has a lot of personality. I believe that Wikipedia has a very good article about the different kinds of vegetarian styles.

 

[Rozzie]

No. I do not consider someone who eats fish to be a vegetarian. However, some people will use the word "vegetarian" and clarify that they do eat some fish.

Personally, I don't consider someone who eats grubs or grasshoppers to be a vegetarian.

Some people would suggest that eating honey is not acceptable for vegetarians. When it comes to this level, it is a personal choice for each person.

Of course, it is NOT possible to be a 100% vegetarian. It's absolutely impossible. Most vegetarians eat grain, for example. There are plenty of insects and insect parts that get mixed in with grain crops. Insects die / are killed at various times in the growing and harvesting of the food, and some of these end up ground into your grain right along with the grain itself. Yummy!

For most vegetarians who choose not to eat flesh because of ethical reasons, it comes down to minimizing the harm done. Skipping the meat dish greatly reduces harm done. Skipping eggs and milk can reduce it farther. Not buying fur is another good way to reduce harm that is done.

Some vegetarians choose not to worry about things like gelatin in candy because they figure that if the slaughter industry were not in existence companies would not use gelatin -- animals are not typically slaughtered to produce gelatin. It is a byproduct of the slaughter industry and probably wouldn't be financially viable if the purpose of raising the animal was to produce gelatin. Some people feel the same way about leather, though there might be more room for argument there given the example of the fur industry.

 

[AngieChick]

My reasons are simple: I have an issue with factory farmed meat. They are environmentally damaging, practice inhumane treatment of animals (small cages, etc.), and they have effectively squeezed out small family farms.

That said, I am considering starting to eat meat on occasion if it is from a local small farm. We are fortunate to have a number in the area. I have eaten a couple of my own extra roosters. Fish I eat only occasionally, largely because our ocean fish populations are in serious trouble. I did recently eat a trout, but it was caught and cooked by my chef cousin so there was really no way to refuse

I have no issue with the death of an animal, we all die eventually, but I do have an issue when an animal is subject to the kind of life that factory farming tends towards.

We eat dairy, and try to be mindful about where it comes from. Most of what we buy is from a fairly local source, I have driven by it on my way to Eugene and saw the cows out and about. They seemed well cared for. Our long term goal is to get a couple of dairy goats next year (it's all about the cheese, yum yum).

My views on the subject were fairly extreme 20 years ago when I went veggie, but I've grown to be much more mindful of the big picture and to understand that I will not always be perfect (dairy is our downfall), but that what we are doing still makes a difference and it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

I don't judge those who choose to eat meat from sources that I couldn't bring myself to do and hope that others don't judge my choices. We all have our lines in the sand, and they don't always make sense to people outside of our households.

 

[thaiturkey]

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Seafood can be part of a vegetarian diet if its a plant and the little creatures that lurk in the have been removed. Put simply, a vegetarian diet is one made up entirely of plants. Fish, shellfish, whales and other sea animals cannot form part of a vegetarian diet. Vegetarians who eat seafood may, if one wants to be indulgent towards them, call them 'semi-vegetarians'. Here's Wiki's fuller definition and the whole article is worth reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

I know that many vegetarians are sincere in their philosophy and take their diet seriously. My children are like that; misguided by pc teachers decades ago but sincere nonetheless. However, as with other philosophies, there are those who latch onto vegetarianism in order to give their lives a bit more meaning; to have a cause and something with which they can say, 'This is me'. In some quarters it's cool, trendy and pc to be vegetarian. Those people may either go to unhealthy, and for listeners to their monologues boring, extremes. Others just play at it. 'I'm veggie this week, Darlink', or 'I've been veggie for, ooh, simply ages. I feel so much better. It's OK to eat some beef steak sometimes though'. Such people are not serious about vegetarianism, if indeed many of them really are vegetarian, and devalue the message of those who are.

In my view, vegetarianism is an absolute. You either are vegetarian or you're not. If you slip down the occasional egg or mayo and tuna sandwich, you aren't veggie. It's difficult to see that anyone is truly vegetarian other than a vegan. Now, veganism is difficult to adhere to and I believe that is why so many, feeling forced to compromise because of their lifestyle, are not vegans. That means they are not true vegetarians.

 

[Laurajean]

I've been a vegetarian for 25 years now. When I say vegetarian I mean that I don't eat meat/fish. Sometimes people get confused and ask what things I don't eat. To make it simple, I explain that if it ever had a pulse, I don't eat it. My story is this:

When I was little, we had a small farm. My father slaughtered pigs. I didn't like it, and would hide in the house when he would slaughter them in the yard, but I never thought much of the slaughtered pig - to - dinner equation. One time I went with my dad to buy some pigs. While my dad was walking around choosing pigs, I spotted the tiniest little piglet I'd ever seen. I went running up to my dad holding the teensy piglet saying "Daddy, look how cute she is!" The pig seller/farmer said "You can have her for free, she's a runt, we're just going to kill her because she ain't no good for meat". I begged my father who explained that pigs were a lot of work. I begged and begged. He said that I could have her if I promised to take care of her all by myself. I promised, and named the piglet Petunia and she road home in my lap like a kitten.

I kept my word and took excellent care of Petunia, dragging buckets of slop that I was too little too lift all the way to her pen. I would put her on a leash and walk around the yard with her and lie in the sunny field using her as a big pillow. They say love makes all things grow, and I loved Petunia a whole lot. Before too long she became absolutely enormous. Well, my father noticed that too.

One day Petunia disappeared and my father said she went to live on another farm. Around that same time we also suddenly had an abundance of meat in the freezer in those white wrappers with Sharpie markings. I was a kid, but I wasn't stupid. I was absolutely devastated. I refused to eat any meat fearing that I would accidentally eat Petunia.

Soon after it dawned on me that any one of those pigs could have been "a Petunia". Or a cow. Or a fish. Etc. My parents freaked out and were convinced I'd be anorexic or unhealthy, etc., but guess what? 25 years later and I'm healthy, happy and fine. I get plenty of protein, I eat a balanced diet. It's hard to believe it's been 25 years now without meat, but I couldn't imagine life any other way. I am NOT one of those preachy vegetarians however. I believe in live and let live, and I don't try and stuff tofu down anyones' throat anymore than I would want them stuffing steak down mine. To each his own.

But that's why I'm a vegetarian.

 

[debilorrah]

Laura what your dad did was downright wrong on all levels. How horrible to kill a childs pet! Now if you were starving, I could see it, but to not talk to you about was just wrong.

 

[Laurajean]

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Yeah Deb, I know. I have never really forgiven him for it to be honest. To this day, if he makes the mistake of harassing me about being a vegetarian, I'm very quick to remind him that he has himself to thank for it. He'll occasionally try to justify it by saying we needed the food, but it's not true. We weren't poor and we had plenty of pigs. It was just pure greed on his part.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Most of my friends who are vegetarian don't eat meat for religious reasons. Several of my Jewish friends in college were vegetarian because it made it easier to keep kosher. Most of the Jewish dietary laws involve meat, not plants, so being vegetarian makes most of the rules moot. You don't need two sets of dishes and all that stuff.

 

[debilorrah]

mom'sfolly :

Most of my friends who are vegetarian don't eat meat for religious reasons. Several of my Jewish friends in college were vegetarian because it made it easier to keep kosher. Most of the Jewish dietary laws involve meat, not plants, so being vegetarian makes most of the rules moot. You don't need two sets of dishes and all that stuff.

I can see that, and this yet another point. I am really amazed at the different reasons people have. I am glad I posted this. I like to learn new things about people and this has been enlightening.​